Arthur J. Delaney has been appointed Chapter Coordinator of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights.  In this role, Delaney will supervise all chapter presidents across the nation and will oversee the development  of new chapters; he will report to the league’s vice president, Bernadette Brady.

Delaney will work from his home office in Philadelphia but will be tenured as a staff member of the national headquarters.  He will remain in charge of the Greater Philadelphia/South Jersey chapter of the league.

Catholic League president William Donohue had this to say about Delaney’ s new status:

“Anyone who knows Art Delaney knows him as a thoughtful and committed Catholic. He is just right for this job and we expect that the chapters will develop stronger than ever under his tutelage.  He is a welcome addition to the national office.”

Montgomery Ward has become the twentieth company to withdraw its sponsorship of “Nothing Sacred.”  In doing so it joins Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, AT&T, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scott’s Liquid Gold, Chrysler-Plymouth, Honda, Arm & Hammer, Home Depot, Borden and Alberto Culver.

The official statement from the department store reads as follows:  “After a careful review of the new fall programming, Montgomery Ward has determined that ‘Nothing Sacred’ on ABC does not meet its acceptable advertising standards.  Therefore, as of October 3, 1997, Montgomery Ward has determined the appropriate steps to ensure none of its advertising is aired during the ‘Nothing Sacred’ program.”

William Donohue was ecstatic:

“I hope Montgomery Ward has a banner fourth-quarter and that Catholics do their Christmas shopping there.

“Last week’s episode of ‘Nothing Sacred’ was branded ‘Loser of the Week’ by Entertainment Weekly.  At the rate the show is going, it’s likely to win the ignoble prize of ‘Loser of the Year. ‘

“Those who are trying to undercut the Catholic League by starting a counter-boycott have entered the arena too late: the game’s just about over and everyone knows who won.”

Borden, Inc. has officially notified the Catholic League that it is discontinuing its ads on the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred.”  On the October 2 episode, Borden advertised Classico pasta sauces.  Today, it apologized for sponsoring “Nothing Sacred” and explained that it has an advertising policy that should have allowed its new advertising agency to say “no” to the program.

This brings to eighteen the number of companies that have withdrawn sponsorship of the program.  The previous ones were: Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, AT&T, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scott’s Liquid Gold, Chrysler-Plymouth, Honda, Arm & Hammer and Home Depot.

William Donohue had this to say about the latest company to quit:

“Borden’s good name is still intact.  It acted in the public interest by deciding not to lend its reputation to ‘Nothing Sacred’ ever again.

“It is interesting to note that another ABC show that addresses religion, ‘Teen Angel,’ won its time slot the first time out.  One of the reasons why it won, and ‘Nothing Sacred’ lost, is that ‘Teen Angel’ offends no one. Pray tell this lesson isn’t lost on Disney/ABC.”

Three recent incidents of Satanism have occurred and none of them has been given much attention by the media.

The gruesome murder of eleven-year old Edward Werner of New Jersey got the coverage it deserved, but what was clearly underreported was the status of his accused killer. It was widely reported that the accused attended a Catholic school, but it was rarely mentioned that he was attracted to Satanism.  The defendant wore shirts with the Satanic symbol 666 on it and ascribed to a theory of God as espoused by the lead singer of the band, Smashing Pumpkins: “I don’t care if He exists and if He does, I don’ t think He cares if I care that He exists.”

In a second incident, a member of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) decided to object to animal research at the Catholic institution, Boys Town, by dressing up as Satan and holding forth with a protest on the roof of the Catholic hospital.

Finally, there is the Al Goldstein publication, Screw. The October 6 edition shows a naked man having intercourse with Mother Teresa; the man has a beard, has blood emanating from his side, and is wearing a crucifix and a crown of thorns, with a halo above his head. There is also a picture of Mother Teresa’ s face superimposed on the naked body of a woman who has her legs spread.  And there is a cartoon of Mother Teresa sitting on a toilet.

William Donohue characterized these incidents this way:

“Just as it is a mistake to brand Satanic that which one viscerally rejects, it is also a mistake to retire this word from one’s lexicon.  If these three cases don’t merit the term Satanic, then the word has no meaning.

“What will the Catholic League do about this? Pray.”

American Honda Motor Co., Inc. has notified ABC that it will never again advertise on “Nothing Sacred.”  In a letter addressed to Catholic League president William Donohue, an official of the car company said that “it was our intention not to sponsor or run any commercials during the program.”  He explained that “Unfortunately, several local affiliates of ABC misunderstood our directive regarding Nothing Sacred and accidentally aired our commercials in a few markets.”  [Honda ads appeared in New York during the second episode on September 25.]

Honda was reassuring that this would not happen again: “We have subsequently contacted all of ABC affiliates and have told them in no uncertain terms not to air Honda commercials during this program at anytime in any market.”  An apology was also extended.

Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, AT&T, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts, Scott’s Liquid Gold and Chrysler­Plymouth previously pulled sponsorship from “Nothing Sacred.”  Honda brings the total to fifteen.

William Donohue remarked as follows:

“More good news for the Catholic League and more bad news for Disney/ABC.  Honda’s official statement is superb.  Those who claim to be interested in social justice issues should write to Honda and ask the company if it has any workshop instructors available to teach a course on ethics.  Perhaps Honda could also deconstruct the show for those unable to grasp its meaning.”

A spokesman for Chrysler-Plymouth said today that he was shocked that an ad for his company appeared in the New York market on the September 25 episode of the ABC show, “Nothing Sacred.”  He told Catholic League president William Donohue that the show was previewed by officials from his company this past summer and that a firm decision was made not to advertise on the show.  He is currently investigating how the unauthorized ad appeared on the New York affiliate of the network, WABC-TV.

This means that Chrysler-Plymouth is the fourteenth company to pull ads from “Nothing Sacred.”  The others are Isuzu, Weight Watchers, K-Mart, Benckiser, DuPont, Red Lobster, Ocean Spray, Sears, AT&T, Glaxo Wellcome, Ponderosa, Dunkin’ Donuts and Scott’s Liquid Gold.

William Donohue voiced his thoughts this way:

“The ad that appeared in New York was the kind of innocent mishap that plagues all organizations.  In no way does it reflect the intent of Chrysler-Plymouth.  Indeed, the spokesman for the company made it plain that officials at the Chrysler-Plymouth headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan would never give their okay to a show like ‘Nothing Sacred. ‘ Indeed, they did just the opposite after previewing it in New York this past summer.  That is why I wrote to him saying that Chrysler-Plymouth is a model of corporate responsibility.

“I couldn’t help but notice the large number of ads from ABC that appeared on last night’s ‘Nothing Sacred.’  It must be embarrassing for the network to have to subsidize its own work to such an extent.  To the question, ‘What if they made a show and nobody watched?’ it can now be said, ‘Not to worry, if it’s on ABC, Disney will bail them out. “